A Promise
by nevillelongbottomfanatic
Summary: The significance of a pebble is not something regularly considered among most of us. But maybe it should be. After all, Kili's pebble represented a promise...but maybe not the promise you think it held. Tauriel/Kili. Prepare yourself for fluff!


**A/N This is a story that I, for some unknown reason, felt compelled to write in the middle of the night. It is a VERY, VERY FLUFFLY Kili/Tauriel fic.**

**At first I was opposed to Tauriel's character, because she was not in the book, but I have grown to welcome her into the LOTR family, and wholeheartedly ship Kili and Tauriel.**

**Also, please excuse any mistakes regarding the details… I have only seen the Desolation of Smaug once so far, and it has been so long since I read the book… **

**And, as always, reviews are greatly appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hobbit… lucky JRR Tolkien….**

Two days.

The amount of time the dwarves had been in captivity.

The amount of time Tauriel had known Kili.

Two days wasn't a very long amount of time, by any stretch of the imagination.

But it was enough.

While Legolas was preoccupied with war strategies and bribing the leader of the dwarf company, Tauriel spent hours on end with her back pressed against Kili's, separated by three solid jail bars, pressing firmly into their skin. They swapped stories endlessly, and what had begun as a competition of grizzly war tales had quickly transformed into a humourous recounting of their lengthy lives. Never had Tauriel laughed so loudly, her arms clutching her stomach , her entire body trembling as giggles cascaded from her mouth joyously. Her laughter warmed Kili's heart, causing an odd sensation to tingle through the tips of his fingers and toes.

Gradually, they opened up to each other more and more, and, within those 48 hours, both Kili and Tauriel found themselves confiding in each other the stories and secrets that no one else knew, without hesitation, as they had grown to trust each other entirely, despite their many differences.

Once, at the beginning of the second day, Legolas had happened upon Tauriel, mid-story, her expressions animated and her eyes alight, while Kili watched eagerly.

"Tauriel!" Legolas barked in their native Elven tongue, "What business do you have with these scoundrels, clearly unworthy of even setting foot on Elven soil? Come with me, and we shall interact with our own people, who have intelligence levels equal to our own."

Tauriel stiffened, and the excitement drained from her features. "Yes, Legolas," she murmured, rising unenthusiastically and gliding slowly toward him.

Luckily, as they started in the direction of the halls, Legolas was too preoccupied to notice Tauriel glance behind her and flash three finger at Kili, who nodded and slumped against the opposite prison wall, fingering his engraved pebble.

When Tauriel returned in three hours as she had promised, a mischievous grin creeping gracefully across her face, Kili taught her a few basic Dwarvish words, something Legolas would not be able to easily interpret.

As the sun set and the stars began blinking in the sky, Tauriel and Kili lay with their backs pressed to the cool stone floor on either side of the cell, their voices lowered to soft murmurs, gazing dreamily at the beautiful lights, recalling memories and old stories, and, at the same time, making new ones.

Tauriel awoke the next morning, the sky a fading red as the sun peaked out from behind the Lonely Mountain. She stood slowly, noticing that her fingertips had connected with Kili's through the bars. She had gathered her belongings as hurriedly and silently as possible, bustling off to her quarters before Kili could wake, or Legolas could wander through the holding area.

After breakfast, once Legolas was holed up inside the war room, strategizing with two of the other Elven military leaders, Tauriel slipped away to Kili's cell, where she smuggled him an extra Farate Leaf.

They had only talked for a little under two hours when the unmistakable rustle of Elvish robes filled their ears, and Tauriel rose quickly, murmuring a goodbye to Kili as she began to slip away. Kili stopped her, however, hissing her name urgently. Tauriel whirled around to face him, and he motioned her toward his cell. She rushed forward, glancing nervously over her shoulder for a sign of the other elf guard who sounded as though he was getting closer.

Kili stood quickly, his brows furrowed, and Tauriel was once again struck by how tall he was for a Dwarf, almost level with her.

Reaching through the bars, Kili grasped her hand and engulfed it in his, giving it a small squeeze before releasing his grip and retracting his arm. Feeling a small weight in her fist, Tauriel uncurled her fingers to find Kili's pebble resting in her palm. She glanced at Kili in surprise, and he met her gaze with a serious expression, murmuring softly, "It was my reminder, and now it is yours, to remind you of me. It was my promise to my mother, and now, I promise you this: I will find you again. Go."

Tauriel nodded in understanding, wrapping her hand securely around the small object and gliding away. She was aware of what his words meant. She knew he would be gone the next time she passed his cell. They all would be.

As she slipped the stone into her pocket, its small weight reassuring, she wondered when she would see the tall dwarf again, having no doubt that she would.

That proof rested in her dress pocket, a promise, in the form of a small, Dwarvish pebble.


End file.
